A polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) using a proton-conductive solid polymer membrane operates at lower temperature compared to other types of a fuel cell such as a solid oxide fuel cell or a molten carbonate fuel cell, for example. For such reasons, the polymer electrolyte fuel cell is expected to be used as a stationary power supply or a power source for a moving object such as an automobile, and actual application thereof has been already started.
For the polymer electrolyte fuel cell, an expensive metal catalyst represented by Pt (platinum) or Pt alloy is generally used. Furthermore, as a carrier for supporting the metal catalyst, graphitized carbon is used from the viewpoint of water repellency and corrosion resistance. It is described in JP 2005-26174 A to use a carrier in which average lattice plant spacing of a [002] plane, that is, d002, is 0.338 to 0.355 nm, specific surface area is 80 to 250 m2/g, and volume density is 0.30 to 0.45 g/ml. In JP 2005-26174 A, it is described that the durability of a cell is improved by using the graphitized carbon.